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Hamo The Kid’s Minister Rides Again…

I have been sitting here doing some prep for the kids stuff we do on Sundays.

But I’m not so sure I want to go the route ‘the book’ is suggesting. Given my disaster last time I’m not sure I should be trusted with a Bible around young kids…

The theme has us looking at 4 significant mountain experiences in the Bible. The first – the one Danelle and I are responsible for – is Mt Moriah, where God has Abraham lead Issac up to be sacrificed. (Can anyone see a great simulation game developing?…)

I find this a testing story at the best of times. I don’t ‘get’ the way God works in this one. I wonder if we do our kids harm by telling them about a God who gives a man a son then asks him to kill him, albeit as a sacrifice.

Its not an ideal ‘kids story’, is it?…

Then again this is all part of the narrative and another part of me says we shouldn’t hide kids from the parts of God we find difficult or confusing. They might even ‘get it’ better than we do.

The other bit I am pondering is the theological framing of the lesson, which says God can’t really use us unless he has tested us. And if we fail the test then we have to wait until God tests us again before we can be of use to him. Maybe I’m overthinking it, but to me that’s a fairly broad generalisation and probably not a message I would subscribe to.

Anyway… will see what develops

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This entry was posted on Saturday, June 7th, 2008 at 2:18 pm and is filed under Theological Mumbo Jumbo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

5 Comments

Good luck to you mate!!!! Never, never, never (God willing) will I deliver kid’s talks. My wife does, she’s great at it – her messages go beyond the kids at the Bridge and to the whole gathering.

Comment by Mark R — June 7, 2008 @ 3:06 pm

I don’t really focus on the ‘testing’ part of this story when I try and understand it and what God’s revealing to us through it. The only way that really makes sense to me is to see it through the lens of God’s incredibly deep love.

He made Abraham take Isaac all the way up the mountain knowing he is to kill his own son(kinda like Jesus being led up to the Place of the Skull), told him that a sacrifice was required, that God would provide the sacrifice, that the sacrifice was to be a beloved son…and then he lets Abraham off the hook.

He says (through the eyes of history) “A son needs to die to take this punishment, to make it right again, but I’m not going to demand that you (or anyone else) give up your son. I’ll do it. But, so that you know, viscerally, the pain it will cause me, I’ll show you what it feels like.”

The point of the story, for me, is not that God asks a man to kill his son, but that he, ultimately, doesn’t.

Also, it’s hard to think of this story without seeing it as a contrast to the other ‘gods’ in the culture around Abraham who did demand the sacrifice of their followers’ children.

Comment by Aili — June 7, 2008 @ 3:46 pm

Aiili – great comment IMHO

And the final twist of the knife as it were is that God’s own son goes up a mountain and God does indeed provide the sacrifice and this time the knife is not spared. Not, I know, the kind of thing our culture finds remotely attractive, nor even within the church, but a source of amazement nonetheless

Comment by steve mac — June 7, 2008 @ 6:24 pm

So, how’d it go, Hamo?

Comment by Aili — June 9, 2008 @ 9:28 am

SU England and Wales have just launched lightlive.org which puts a whole pile of children’s ministry resources online and helps you pull together a program. I haven’t checked it out yet but I wonder if it will give you some help. Let me know if it is any good

Comment by Peter — June 9, 2008 @ 4:14 pm

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